Divergent lacewing

As I went out to the garden a smallish insect on the garden hose caught my eye and required a closer look. At first glance I thought it was a slender moth but a closer look indicated a lacewing but unlike any I had seen before.

I took a few more photos after picking it up for a close look and to get better lighting to pick up the colours and patterns of the wings.

To identify what I had found I Googled lacewings and found lots of photos of lacewing species but none like this and all the reference sites that I use to check for insects had nothing like this.

Finally I found a photo and a name amongst the mass of lacewing images Porismus strigatus one of a family of lacewings Neuroptera:Osmylidae that  diverged from a common ancestor during the Late Permian before the break-up of the super continent Pangaea.

The family are called Lance Lacewings as their larvae have elongated lance-like jaws to impale their prey. Species are found on all continents other than in arctic regions although they do not appear to be commonly recorded.

I found a detailed scientific paper on the Phylogeny of the Family and the divergence on Google.